A slippery slope argument goes like this: Apple has censored the app store. It’s just a matter of time before they censor Safari and then eventually they will censor the entire internet.

What Rob is saying, is that it is pointless to ban unsigned apps in the app store to avoid teh pr0n because Safari can be used on the same device to get all teh pr0n one could ever want. So it is questionable that this is their primary motivation for mainting complete control over all app content on the device.

]]>By: draconothhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-758531
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-758531i love my dsi i think i have only used the browser for porn and they block something like that on a device ment for an older audience like us thats kinda lame
]]>By: Cowicidehttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756229
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756229If someone told me that Apple would eventually become like AOL of the 90’s, I would have laughed.

The iPad seems like an AOL device. Lame.

]]>By: Mitchhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756230
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756230So if given a choice you would only install software vetted by Apple. That’s valid for you. If you would voluntarily choose to limit yourself to Apple-approved software, then why do you need Apple to dictate what you may run and take the choice away from you?
]]>By: SamSamhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756486
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756486

If apple chooses not to sell porn themselves, that’s fine. They aren’t required to, any more than any other shopkeeper. […] Apple isn’t responsible for the Internet because it offers a web browser, but they are responsible for content in their own store.

Huh? I think you’re missing what is being argued about. Apple was asked why you couldn’t download *other* applications, outside of the app store, outside of Apple’s control (like you can on the Android). They weren’t asked why there weren’t porn apps in their app store.

Apple said that if they let you download other apps, then kids would download porn. Rob pointed out that kids can already download porn in the iPad.

No one is suggesting that Apple should offer a porn app on its store.

]]>By: Anonymoushttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756236
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756236A porn store sounds like the perfect solution if this is actually the issue for Apple. Have people register their own content as NSFW, and anything that appears in the general (kid-accessible) stream that is inappropriate they can tear down and no-one objects.

To institute a more extensive password/identity system on the NSFW stuff would be a doddle. Parents of young children could disable it permanently on first boot-up, other people might have to jump through an extra hoop if they suddenly find themselves yearning for porn.

Unless their objection is actually ‘You can download them’ and not just ‘your kids can download them’ this isn’t an objection at all.

]]>By: animationarchivehttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756249
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756249If anyone wants porn on their iPhone, no one is stopping them. If anyone wants to sell, tad or give away porn for the iPhone, no one is stopping them from doing that either. The iPhone can play and display mp3s, movie files, PDFs, cbr files, pub files, etc. Any of these formats could be used to distribute content for e iPhone and apple wouldn’t be able to do a thing about it.

If apple chooses not to sell porn themselves, that’s fine. They aren’t required to, any more than any other shopkeeper. Comparing selling porn content to distributing web browsers is ridiculous. They aren’t the same thing. Apple isn’t responsible for the Internet because it offers a web browser, but they are responsible for content in their own store.

]]>By: Anonymoushttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756259
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756259When someone gets an html5 streaming porn site ready, they should go to one of these events with an iPad and just start it running while Jobs is on stage.
]]>By: Anonymoushttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756773
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756773Macs work.

This is the thing most of you ignore.

Maybe it’s cause you like spending your saturdays on your knees, taking your PCs apart and putting them back together again, trying to find the right chemistry of supposedly compatible products that are actually compatible.

Me, I’m making music, designing websites, etc. I don’t like to spend hours and hours customizing my computer. I like to take my computer and make stuff.

So maybe you like to rage on iPad stories to prove how smart you are, how much more adept at computer usage than the average luddite. Rock on, man, you rule!

Meanwhile, the rest of the world appreciates Apple’s stuff because they’re control freaks, they don’t release stuff that doesn’t work and let the consumers beta test it, they don’t let an army of lazy programmers put crap up for sale that crashes other apps, and they don’t make stuff that is ugly.

That, for me and many other people is well worth the premium. I make my living all day every day on Apple products and frankly, if they tripled the prices I would pay them. Having spent years working on PCs running both Windows and Linux, it’s a privilege to work on Jobs’ machines and if that makes me a fanboy, I guess I’m a (rather old) fanboy.

Meanwhile, as long as they maintain their iron fist of control (and, as an owner of Apple stock, I hope they do) their products will continue to function as intended and they will sell truckloads of their beautiful stuff, including the excellent toy known as the iPad.

]]>By: Permanent4http://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756262
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756262Apple can “clean up” its own store all it wants. That’s its right as a company. Apple is the gatekeeper, and it doesn’t have to be entirely democratic.

If Apple wants to try and censor a free and open web, however, it will require some help from the government, and they will both run into that pesky little thing we call the First Amendment.

There is nothing freedom of speech related, really. A given company can simply decide not to offer that part of the internet to you. (Today they don’t offer any part of the internet that relies heavily on Flash for example). Then it’s up to you to decide if you want to buy that company’s device and the content they offer.

It’s not a first amendment question though. Everyone has a right to say things. You don’t have a right to hear what they say on all media platforms. The government doesn’t have the right to censor most things. Companies do have the right to censor their offerings.

]]>By: tomservojrhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756286
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756286“Comparing selling porn content to distributing web browsers is ridiculous. They aren’t the same thing. Apple isn’t responsible for the Internet because it offers a web browser, but they are responsible for content in their own store.”

I don’t think the dedicated wailers/gnashers are going to be able to appreciate that, but thank you for adding some reason to the debate.

]]>By: Anonymoushttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756287
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756287FORNICATORS!
]]>By: kaffeenhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756291
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756291A very safe answer indeed, but complete bull**** too. Of course, in addition to big brothering you, Apple also wants to plaster iAds all over your applications and any worthwhile upgrades like multitasking with 4.0 will not be accessible for “legacy” devices such as 3G. Who needs PORN, when you are getting screwed by Apple already?
]]>By: teapothttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756811
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756811you. clown.

Insisting that apple allow every and any app that comes along to be installed on the device they designed and made served by their own store is unreasonable, and a violation of apple’s right to sell whatever kind of product they want.

No one is insisting on anything. People are just saying “This device….it actually sucks bad because of the limitations. Don’t buy it!”.

Apple is saying “Hey, but it’s for your own good, because we care”.

Rob is saying “Hey Apple, nice lies! I’m gonna explain to my thousands of readers why your reason is obviously a lie, so people can see that your product is very limited and designed to benefit the Apple mothership, not the user”

Then the fanbois (this is where you come in) are saying “but its Apple’s product and blah blah blah. Here, but look: here are examples of other scummy companies doing bad stuff, so Apple should be able to too! apple rulez forever!”

You shouldnt have to jailbreak something to make it do what you want. A tablet PC is 1000 times better than this ijunk, and that is all people are saying. Get it?

Bullshit. It’s all about making 30% off of every app sold. That’s it. Control the device and control the content and control the pricing. It’s what every profit focused entity wants. Just admit it already Jobs.

]]>By: GeekManhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756316
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756316If you bought that line from Steve, you’re the proud owner of bullshit.

The real reason for the “iPhone walled garden” is far more illusive and difficult to explain.

Apple’s mission, (that is, Steve Jobs’ Apple) has always, ALWAYS been to deliver a quality user experience for computing. And Steve feels that the iPhone is NOT a personal computer. Yes, it runs programs and games and copies and pastes and has an IP address and yadda yadda yadda. But it is, first and foremost, a phone. And when someone calls your phone, you expect it to work.

Windows computing has proven that the average user is not good at maintaining the health of their system when a whole bunch of crapware is available for them to install. Viruses and adware run rampant, and needless trinkets like “Bonzo Buddy” degrade stability and performance so that the user and have a little animated monkey in their taskbar.

Steve doesn’t want iPhones crashing, failing to receive calls, performing sluggishly, full of malware, etc. Because when that happens, the dumb users aren’t going to say “Golly, I shouldn’t have put so much crap on this thing”, they will say, “This stupid iPhone sucks!”

So, at the expense of your digital liberties, Apple delivers a quality mobile experience. Say what you will about it, but you can’t argue with the facts: Users Are Stupid.

I know: I’m an IT Manager.

]]>By: puttyhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756319
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756319“Apple isn’t responsible for the Internet because it offers a web browser, but they are responsible for content in their own store.”

You are glossing over the fact that the only reason Apple is responsible for app store content is because they designed it that way. They could have left the platform open to all developers and applications and left it at that. Instead they are going pay people to decide for me whether the fart app or the titty app is worthy enough for me?

No thanks.

]]>By: jere7myhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756320
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756320I can watch porn with my Wii (stop that snickering, Jenkins), via the web browser, but I can’t buy porn for my Wii from the Virtual Console. How is this different?
]]>By: mdhhttp://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-756324
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-756324I think the objective for Apple is in not being responsible (read, liable) for verifying the age of the downloader.
]]>By: huntm856http://boingboing.net/2010/04/08/apple-the-iphone-wal.html#comment-757358
Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000#comment-757358@ putty
Well-stated.
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